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Values in Administrative Law. In the study of administrative law it is
useful to differentiate the major values that drive administrative policies.
These include (a) promoting personal safety, (b) assuring social and
economic justice, and (c) reallocating wealth. Think of an agency or
program in government that illustrates each of these values and offer it
in this discussion. Where, for example, does OSHA’s regulation of toxic
substances in the workplace fit in this scheme? Which of these values
figure into the government programs in the three cases in Chapter 2 of
your text? Respond to at least two of your classmates’ postings.
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PPA 403 Week 1 DQ 2 The Federal Register (Ash)

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The Federal Register. As you read in Chapter 1 of your text, the federal
bureaucracy issues thousands of administrative rules and policy
statements each year. Visit The Office of the Federal Register online to
view a recent Federal Register (the document in which agency actions
are published) and go through the online tutorial. For this discussion,
select an item posted in the Federal Register you have reviewed, then
offer a summary and explain how it represents qualities of improving
public safety, correcting a free market failure, or correcting inefficiency
in an administrative process. Respond to at least two of your classmates’
postings.
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PPA 403 Week 1 Quiz (Ash)

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1.
Question :
In our democratic system we expect that government justify its uses of
power in terms of legal rules and procedures.
2.
Question :
The Administrative Procedure Act (APA) effectively judicialized all
administrative action without exception.
3.
Question :
There are six (6) regional U.S. Courts of Appeals or circuit courts which
hear most of the appeals from administrative agencies.
4.
Question :
A statute is a law determined in an administrative agency.
5.
Question :
One can think of administrative law as both limiting and empowering
administrative government at the same time.
6.
Question :
Administrative law depends solely on court created rules and
procedures to control power.
7.
Question :

The courts primary role in administrative law is predominantly
procedural.
8.
Question :
Common law is the system by which judges use precedent rather than
statutes to decide conflicts.
9.
Question :
Adam Smith in The Wealth of Nations recognized that the state played
an important role in policing and maintaining order for the “free
market”.
10.
Question :
Regulatory government allows for little discretion and thus no human
error, so there is little need to correct for shortcomings.

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PPA 403 Week 2 DQ 1 Constitutional Limits on Agencies (Ash)

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Constitutional Limits on Agencies. There are several constitutional limitations on government
agency power in order to protect and preserve individual rights. Let us consider two of these:
the freedom to contract and private property rights. Citing the text, respond to the following
question: How is the“freedom of contract” limitation on regulatory power under the due
process clause both similar and different from the “takings clause” limitation on regulatory
power? Respond to at least two of your classmates’ postings.

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PPA 403 Week 2 DQ 2 Public Access to Information (Ash)

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Public Access to Information. Public access to information and sunshine laws should be
considered in all communication by all public servants (whether you are a line staff member or
agency director). Technology adds another dimension to what is covered under administrative
law in this area. E-mail correspondence can be requested under the freedom of information
laws. Should e-mail communication among government officials also have to comply with
sunshine laws? According to most sunshine laws, officials cannot meet to discuss public business
without notifying the public of the meeting in advance. Consider the following scenario: In the
case of Spokane County, Washington, there are only three county commissioners, so any
communication between any two of them is automatically a policy-making majority. A reporter
for the local paper asked the commissioners to release all of their e-mail over the past two
months concerning county business. Assume that you are the attorney general in your state in
charge of sunshine law enforcement. Given the political objectives of sunshine laws, how would
you advise the public officials to handle their e-mail? Respond to at least two of your classmatesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;
postings.

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PPA 403 Week 2 Quiz (Ash)

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1.
Question :

The Court’s ruling in the Chevron case established an active role for the
Court’s in interpreting statute with the goal of superseding agency
interpretation.
2.
Question :
The Freedom of Information Act is the most significant law for
expanding access to information about the government.
3.
Question :
The issues of “takings” and “just compensation” always include clear
definitions and straightforward compensation packages to individuals
from the government.
4.
Question :
The Bill of Rights does not contain any relevant information which is
applied in administrative law.
5.
Question :
As long as an administrative investigation is not intended to locate a
crime and lead to arrest, the Court has traditionally ruled in favor of the
administrative agencies right to inspection for such things as welfare
eligibility and inspection.
6.
Question :
There are nine categories of information exempt from disclosure under
the Freedom of Information Act.
7.
Question :
Civil liberties protections are rarely applied in administrative and
regulatory contexts.
8.
Question :
Laissez faire lawyers could generally be seen as working to convince
judges to strike down legislation which interfered with the economic
rights of individuals.

9.
Question :
In Lochner the Court gave public or social interests defined by the state
legislature priority over private property or economic interests.
10.
Question :
The basic rules for administrative investigations have the same
constitutional origin as do the more familiar rules governing polices
searches and interrogations.

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PPA 403 Week 3 DQ 1 Bias in Administrative Law (Ash)

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Bias in Administrative Law. The issue of bias is an important consideration in administrative
agencies and judicial hearings. Discuss whether it is ethical for a judge to have personal ties
with someone about whom they will be making a legal decision. Consider the following questions
in your response: Does professionalism offer adequate checks and balances against bias in
decision making? Should judges recuse themselves from decisions involving people with whom
they have a personal relationship? Since situations often depend on the specific circumstances,
are there circumstances in which you think a judge should definitely recuse him or herself? Are
there other situations in which you think it may not be necessary? Respond to at least two of your
classmatesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; postings

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PPA 403 Week 3 DQ 2 Rulemaking in Practice (Ash)

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Rulemaking in Practice. Investigate and report on the rulemaking process for a government
agency in your state. To get started, select a state agency (for example, one could look at the
website for the Arizona Department of Health Services. You can access agency websites through
a simple Google search or through your state government webpage). Then, search rulemaking or
rules to find out about their process. As we know from the Federal Register activity in Week 1,
publishing information online is an important means through which public agencies inform
citizens of their activities. After you find state agency rulemaking information, tell us the agency,
program and issue. Then address the following questions: What is the process followed? How
much information is provided? Is public participation incorporated into the process? If so, how?
Respond to at least two of your classmatesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; postings.

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PPA 403 Week 3 Quiz (Ash)

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1.
Question :
Both the federal government and state governments must afford citizens
due process of law.
2.
Question :
Administrative law issues are handled at various levels of formality from
informal to formal depending on the issue, the applicable statutes,
authority, and intensity of disagreement.
3.

Question :
Timely and adequate notice to potentially affected parties is necessary
for fair administrative hearings.
4.
Question :
Given that agencies may often choose to follow either the rulemaking or
adjudication process, they may at times find it advantageous to achieve
their goals by avoiding the formality of a hearing by changing the title of
their actions to rulemaking.
5.
Question :
When an agency adjudicates an issue, legal formalities are usually
involved.
6.
Question :
Informal rulemaking is a rarely used administrative tool.
7.
Question :
An agency must always follow an administrative law judgeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s decision.
8.
Question :
The Administrative Procedure Act does not address the opportunity to
present oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s case in writing.
9.
Question :
Regulatory negotiation uses private mediators to resolve conflicts
between parties after the formal hearing process.
10.
Question :
There is a current increase in agency use of administrative law judges to
conduct formal hearings.
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PPA 403 Week 3 The Continuum of Legal Formality (Ash)

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The Continuum of Legal Formality. There are a range of administrative procedures available
to public administrators to handle administrative law issues. Administrators may accomplish
tasks through informal procedures or they may conduct formal hearings. Statute may determine
which procedures must be followed, or it may be up to the administratorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s discretion. In a two to
three-page paper, discuss the main points along the continuum of legal formality (for an
illustration see Appendix A, page 431 in the text) as well as the advantages and disadvantages of
the levels of formality (or informality). Offer examples and cite the text to support your points.
Use APA style as outlined in the approved APA style guide to document all sources.

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PPA 403 Week 4 DQ 1 Administrative Enforcement Tools (Ash)

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Administrative Enforcement Tools. Find an example of an administrative sanction (such as a
fine or revocation of license) that has been imposed on a business or individual for
noncompliance by a government agency from a government report, news article, or other
reputable source. Offer a summary of the situation and explain how the sanction fits in with the
categories offered in the APA, how it fits in (or is counter to) the material in the text, and the
outcome, if available. Respond to at least two of your classmatesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; postings.

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PPA 403 Week 4 DQ 2 Judicial Review (Ash)

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Judicial Review. Citing the text, discuss the rationale for judicial review and the judiciaryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s role
in checking and balancing the power of the other branches of government. What are the
advantages and disadvantages of judicial review? Offer examples. Respond to at least two of
your classmatesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; postings.

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PPA 403 Week 4 Quiz (Ash)

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1.
Question :
Criminal penalties as an administrative sanction result only from
proceedings in the regular courts, not directly from an administrative
order.
2.
Question :
Enforcement is the last step for an agency to achieve its policy goals.
3.
Question :
No options other than formal adjudication exist for administrative
enforcement.

4.
Question :
An agencyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s goal through enforcement and threats of enforcement is to
gain voluntary compliance.
5.
Question :
Agencies whose programs involve financial decisions can use economic
sanctions to achieve policy aims.
6.
Question :
Compliance occurs when actions are consistent with legal commands.
7.
Question :
A central question regarding the scope of judicial review is how much
deference courts should give to an agencyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s interpretation of its own
statutory authority.
8.
Question :
Administrative fines may only be implemented through court order so
are a rarely used administrative sanction.
9.
Question :
The scope of judicial review includes the premise that courts, like
legislatures, make laws and public policy.
10.
Question :
Judges often seek out controversies to rule upon which have yet been
formally entered as a lawsuit.

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PPA 403 Week 5 DQ 1 Affirmative Action Policies (Ash)

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Affirmative Action Policies. Affirmative action employment policies are
often misunderstood. Many programs seek no more than to equalize
racial or sexual balance in employment where occupational tests have
little or no predictive power on job performance. Look-up one or two
offices or policies of affirmative action and/or equal opportunity to see
what agencies are doing in this area and report on your findings. In
your response, also consider the following questions: Is there any legal
or moral objection to such programs? What principles of justice, if any,
support such affirmative action policies? How might an affirmative
action officer shape their program to encourage a balanced mix in
employment without raising claims of reverse discrimination? Respond
to at least two of your classmatesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; postings.
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PPA 403 Week 5 DQ 2 Privatization and Administrative Law
(Ash)

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Privatization and Administrative Law. In your readings issues are
raised on the more recent debate of privatization (and outsourcing) of
government activities to private companies. Describe what you see as
some of the future implications of privatization for administrative law

and public administration. Consider the following questions: Do you
think it is feasible or reasonable to expect privatization of government
activities to maintain the democratic ideals we expect? Do you think we
should exchange some of our democratic expectations for possible
efficiencies? Do you think some activities are better suited for
privatization than others in light of these challenges? Respond to at least
two of your classmatesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; postings.
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PPA 403 Week 5 Final Paper (Ash)

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Final Paper
Select a U.S. Supreme Court case from the list below and read the full
case involved as well as other supporting documents (see also the notes
below on how to access case information through the AU online
library).
Focus of the Final Paper
Please examine one of the cases from this list for your paper:
* Goldberg v. Kelly (1970)
* Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. (1984)
* Massachusetts v. EPA (2007)
* Wyman v. James (1971)
* Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. Natural Resources Defense
Council (1978)
* Kelo v. City of New London (2005)
To locate the full Supreme Court opinion and additional background
information on the cases, visit the Westlaw database available through
Ashfordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s online library. Once the Westlaw database webpage opens,

select the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Lawâ&#x20AC;? tab and on the far left, second box down, you may
search for cases by title.
Prepare an eight to ten page paper that addresses the following points:
1. Offer a brief summary/historical overview of the circumstances in the
case, the stakeholders, and the outcome sought by the plaintiff.
2. Explain how the case qualified for judicial review in regards to the
ripeness, standing, exhaustion of administrative remedies, and primary
jurisdiction, as they apply.
3. Analyze the caseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s outcome. In your analysis, be sure to address the
administrative action that took place in the case (if available), whether
or not the court succeeded or failed in reducing arbitrariness, and the
implications for future administrative actions (precedence).